23880 - Operational Support Officer

Ministry of Justice; Tees Valley; Hybrid; GBP 21,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is seeking an Operational Support Officer to provide high‑quality telephone and administrative support to court users. The role involves progressing cases, handling enquiries with empathy, and maintaining digital records as part of a busy team.

Open to flexible patterns with hybrid working and full-time hours; training is provided alongside a supportive team Leader and SHELF guidance materials.

Qualifications

• Strong customer service skills in a public service environment.
• Good digital and administrative abilities with high attention to detail.
• Effective communication and organisational skills across channels.
• Empathetic, resilient and able to work as part of a team.

Responsibilities

• Data entry of paper and digital work, telephony, complaints and correspondence.
• Communicate effectively with the public and court users.
• Deliver high-quality customer service with empathy in stress scenarios.
• Use email, webchat and undertake general administrative work.
• Interpret information to accurately update digital records.

Skills

Customer service

Digital skills

Communication

Team player

Job description

Proud to serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Our Operational Support Officers within National Services provide excellent telephone and administrative support to court users.

About us

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family Courts and Tribunals in England and Wales. Our National Service teams offer a wide range of support which includes assisting customers via the telephone, providing digital assistance, facilitating audio and video hearings, as well as supporting case progression and court hearings.

We support multiple judications such as Social Service and Child Support, Family Public Law, Probation, Crime, Immigration and Asylum, Divorce, Online Civil Money Claims, Special Education Needs and Disability Tribunal (SEND), Mental Health Tribunal and the Single Justice Service.

We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in people’s lives to deliver justice.

Your role

Working as part of a team, you will contribute to the overall operational, performance and service standard targets across your area of work.

Working as part of a team, you will contribute to the overall operational, performance and service standard targets across your area of work. You will progress cases through the court/tribunal system and provide customer service and administrative support to functions within HMCTS. You will have regular contact with court / tribunal users, which could include members of the judiciary and the legal profession. You will be supported by a Team Leader and, alongside our in-depth training programme, will have access to ‘SHELF’ (guidance document) to assist in your role.

You will be adaptable, able to multi-task and effectively carry out a variety of duties, which will include:

• Data entry of paper and digital work, telephony, customer complaints and correspondence.
• Communicating effectively with the public, other court and tribunal users and representatives of other agencies and organisations.
• Delivering a high standard of customer service, responding to enquiries with empathy and understanding, particularly in situations where individuals may be under stress or facing challenging circumstances.
• Using email and webchat and undertaking general administrative work.
• Interpreting information to accurately update digital records.

Your knowledge, skills and experience

• Strong customer service skills with the ability to work in a service-led environment.
• Good digital and administrative skills; with excellent attention to detail.
• Effective communication and organisational skills. Able to communicate confidently in person, over the telephone, digitally and in written communications.
• Resilient and empathetic to be able to deal with sensitive information and situations.
• A team player; able to work collaboratively and flexibly to deliver HMCTS objectives.

Please refer to the role profile attachment for more information.

Training

The office is open Monday-Friday. Requests for particular shift patterns will be discussed with successful candidates upon successful completion of pre-employment checks.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week (Monday to Friday). HMCTS welcomes part‑time, flexible and job‑sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs and are agreed prior to appointment. All applications for part‑time, flexible and job‑sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy. Applications for part‑time working will be considered, however due to the nature of the role the minimum number of hours we could consider is 28 hours per week.

Non‑contractual hybrid working is currently available. Hybrid working arrangements will be determined by the business and are only relevant to particular teams, only available when it has been established that delivering the service from home can be done effectively. We cannot facilitate requests for a particular work from home/working in the office schedule.

There is a 1‑week induction that is full time but can be worked from home, following this a full‑time 6‑week training academy will commence, this is office based / in person. Requests for part‑time training will be considered on a case‑by‑case basis and will only be approved if we can establish that we can ensure you will receive the full benefit of training and that all of the learning will be consolidated within that timeframe.

Skilled Worker Visa

This role is not eligible for new Skilled Worker visas in accordance with the current immigration rules.

From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the Skilled Worker visa route. The department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your vetting checks and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.

If you are applying for this role and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

The Department will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.